NHL Betting Preview: Canucks vs. Oilers Game 4
By Tyson Cole
2 months agoThe Vancouver Canucks steal a game in Edmonton to reclaim home ice in their series against the Edmonton Oilers, going up 2-1 in the series after a 4-3, Game 3 win. In this NHL Betting article, you’ll be up to date with all the current Canucks odds and trends from this series to help you win a little bit of extra money this playoff season!
Oilers vs. Canucks Odds
- Vancouver Canucks Moneyline Odds: +170
- Edmonton Oilers Moneyline Odds: -205
- Puck Line Odds: Canucks +1.5 (-150), Oilers -1.5 (+125)
- Game Total: 6.5 goals (over -105, under -115)
- Time/Date: May 14th, 6:30 PM PST
- TV: Sportsnet, CBC
All odds courtesy of bet365.
Last Matchup
Game 3 was full of dramatics in this Vancouver and Edmonton series. Each team that allowed the first goal of the game came back and won. The first period was telling of how the game would go, as Brock Boeser’s playoff heroics continued, with him picking up two goals and one assist.
It’s Arturs Silovs’ world, and we’re just all living in it. He made 42 of 45 saves on his way to a 4-3, Game 3 victory in only his fifth career playoff start. “Post isn’t good goaltending,” Leon Draisaitl replied when asked about the play of Arturs Silovs. That’s true, Leon; why don’t you try not shooting it at the post, then?
Speaking of Draisaitl, the Canucks did a great job of shutting down his and Connor McDavid’s lines. In my latest The Tape series, I highlighted all how the Canucks changed their defensive structure through the offensive zone and neutral zone, limiting the two superstars to the outside and rarely allowing them in the centre of the ice.
If the previous game proved anything, it’s that that’s the script for beating the Oilers – don’t allow them to get on the inside and match their speed to kill their neutral zone advantage.
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Check out Daily Faceoff for all the updates regarding the line combinations and goaltenders for Tuesday’s matchup.
Handicapping the Canucks (6-3 SU, 7-2 ATS, 5-4 O/U)
There are a lot of factors to consider for tonight’s game. My biggest worry comes down to what the defence is going to look like without Carson Soucy. The suspended player has been a critical contributor to the Canucks defensive success this playoffs, with four points, 27 hits, nine blocks and a +3 rating while averaging 17:26 minutes of ice time.
One of the biggest strengths of this Canucks’ success this post-season is their ability to play all three defensive pairings, have kept them all fresh, but that’s not a luxury I’d imagine Vancouver will have tonight. The projected third-pairing of Ian Cole and Noah Juulsen could cause problems for them, especially if they’re matched up against McDavid or Draisaitl’s lines. Watching this series, Canucks fans have seen the struggles Cole has had.
All in all, I think the Canucks can handle their business like they have all series against the Oilers – even with all these lineups changes in Edmonton.
Handicapping the Oilers (5-3 SU, 2-6 ATS, 7-1 O/U)
It’s going to be pretty tricky to try to handicap this Oilers team with all of the lineup changes set to come for tonight, which affect all three positions: forwards, defencemen, and goaltenders.
Calvin Pickard gets the nod tonight, with McDavid and Draisaitl getting separated on two different lines. Knoblauch hinted at running 11 forwards and seven defencemen due to an injury to their back end. This tactic should keep most of their defencemen fresh but would, in turn, tire out the forward. They’ll likely double-shift McDavid and Draisaitl down with the fourth-line guys — not really helping to limit their ice time from the 30 minutes they played last night.
However, I think teams rally around new goaltenders. This, along with seven defencemen tonight, should allow the Oilers to play a better defensive game.
Canucks vs. Predators Injury News
Adam Henrique was out for Game 1, returned in Game 2, playing 11:38 of ice time, missed Game 3 and will also miss Game 4 this evening. Leon Draisaitl, Evander Kane, and Mattias Ekholm also missed morning skate today, but they are all projected to play.
No new Canucks injury news. Thatcher Demko remains out with a knee injury. The report on his return hasn’t really changed; it has now updated from sometime after Game 4 to now eyeing a Game 6 or Game 7 return. But now that begs the question, do you bother going back to Demko after how Silovs has been playing?
Projected Lineups
I don’t expect many line changes after a victory, but not much is confirmed after an optional skate this morning. However, the one definite change will be the suspended Carson Soucy coming out of the lineup, likely for Noah Juulsen. Rick Tocchet hinted at a potential line change in the forward core, but that wasn’t made official. Winning a game where you stop 42 of 45 saves will solidify Arturs Silovs’ sixth straight start in net.
There are a ton of lineup changes for Kris Knoblauch and the Edmonton Oilers. Firstly, they’re splitting up McDavid and Draisaitl. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins takes the top-line left-wing role while Dylan Holloway gets promoted to the second line with Draisaitl and Evander Kane. With Henrique being ruled out, Knoblauch hinted at a formation of 11 forwards and seven defencemen. The rookie coach wasn’t done there; they’ve decided to make a goaltending change, giving Calvin Pickard his first NHL playoff start.
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Team Betting Trends
- Vancouver went 4-0 in their last three games against Edmonton on the road.
- Vancouver and Edmonton are 6-1 to the over this season.
- Vancouver is 6-0 on the puck line in their last five games as an underdog.
- Edmonton is 1-5 on the puck line in their previous five games as a favourite.
- Edmonton is 1-9 on the puck line in their last 10 home games against Vancouver.
Player Prop Betting Trends
- Zach Hyman has cleared his 3.5 shots on goal line in all three games this series, averaging 5.3 shots on 7.7 shot attempts. Home ice is where Hyman has excelled this season, clearing this line in 61% of all home games, averaging 4.2 shots on 6.6 shot attempts.
- Nikita Zadorov is usually not one of the players who has a shot on goal, but bet365 has his line at 1.5 for Game 4. He has cleared this line in all three games this series, averaging 2.3 shots on 3.7 shot attempts. With the Soucy suspension, Zadorov will likely get more ice time tonight and could likely help en route to clearing this line.
- In every betting preview, I seem to mention Brock Boeser’s point line at -160 odds. He has five points in all three games this series. Throughout the playoffs, he’s averaging 1.2 points per game in nine games. In seven games against the Oilers this season, he’s registered 12 points.
- Evan Bouchard has covered his 2.5 shots on goal line in all three games this series, but that’s juiced at -180 odds, so I’m looking at 4+ shots on goal. Bouchard has registered 4+ shots on goal in the latest two games, finishing with five shots on 12 attempts and six shots on 16 attempts.
Best Bets for Canucks Army
- Elias Pettersson finally got the monkey off his back and lit the lamp in Game 2. With his confidence hopefully back now and the Canucks are back on the road where he has a point in each playoff road game, we’ll be taking a Brock Boeser point at -160 odds.
- We’re doubling down from the last article bet now. Vancouver now moves themselves to 6-0 as an underdog to the puck line, while Edmonton is 1-5 as a favourite; we’ll be taking the Vancouver Canucks +1.5 at -150 odds.
- With all of Evan Bouchard’s recent shooting prowess in this series and the Oilers needing to rely on him even further with the likely Mattias Ekholm injury, we’ll be taking Evan Bouchard 4+ shots on goal at +140 odds.
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